sheephead

American  

[sheep-hed] / ˈʃipˌhɛd /

noun

plural

sheephead,

plural

sheepheads

1. a large California food fish, Semicossyphus pulcher, of the wrasse family.

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Etymology

Origin of sheephead

First recorded in 1535–45; so called from the resemblance of its teeth to those of a sheep

Example Sentences

On California’s North Coast, where other urchin nemeses — like otters, spiny lobsters and sheephead — are lacking, 96% of the region’s kelp forests vanished in the decade following the sea star collapse.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2025

Fish vary by season but can include yellowtail, white sea bass, calico bass, barracuda, sheephead and halibut.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2015

He got out the rod and caught mangrove snappers from under the banks and sheephead from their hiding places among sunken logs and snags.

From Dick in the Everglades by Dimock, A. W.